Hello, My name is Molly, I am 31 and live in a small town in New York State. I have had other dogs, including growing up with St, Bernards, although have never had a pitbull. My neighbor has a red nose pit, named Bella and the moment I met her I was in love.

My neighbor bred Bella and I am getting a puppy, she is a full bred Red nose pit named Athena Holly (she was born on christmas) I already enjoy going over to their place ( we live in the same building) and holding her, She is just starting to walk around and wag that cute little tail. IF anyone has any tips for me please let me know

First what type of leash? do you reccomend the rope ones ( I Know as they get older they get stronger) Also what type of chew toys as she is teething now ( i live across the hall from her mom) and for later?

athenasmom wrote:Also how do i go about being able to post else where on the site

In order to be giving posting access you have to post a proper introduction that gets approved. This is what they're looking for, something along these lines.viewtopic.php?f=17&t=64327If you've already posted something like that in your other thread, then sometimes it just takes a little bit of time. Our mods are volunteers!

If your neighbor is promoting his/her dogs as being a Full Bred Red Nose, then it's very likely s/he's not an ethical breeder. There's no such thing as a Full Bred Red Nose. "Red Nose" is just that-the color of the nose not a line of dogs. Does your neighbor health test the dogs (and this is more than just a vet visit and vacinations, people get the heart, hips, eyes and tons of other things looked at very specifically-there's even a database for some of the information)? Are they in any sort of sports or competition? Probably not, right? It's okay! Your dog is probably going to be awesome anyway. But stick around, read up and you'll see your dog very likely came from a backyard breeder. Lots of the dogs on this board did. Both of mine probably did. We just didn't know any better at the time and have since learned. Maybe you will too and you'll understand why we really try and push the education about BYBs.

I guess I was under the impression you were saying that unethical breeders are breeders who treat their dogs bad and things, I am sorry so yes, my dog did come from a BYB, I guess, I was under the impression that was a bad thing. Anyways, I am new to the pitbull breed (although I Have always admired them, and love hearing success stories of successfully rehabilitated pits)

The mom, Bella, is one of the most affectionate dogs i have ever met, you tell her she's not a lap dog, and she look's at you like you have two heads. In fact, My puppy (whom I have been admiring from the cage) and Bella have changed my best friend's mind about pits. WHen I first told my best friend I would be getting a pit, she suffice it to say was not too pleased, or excited, now, she is almost as excited as I am to welcome Athena Holly (the puppy's name, the second name bc she is a Christmas baby) into my home.

She in fact has been helping me come up with things for us to do together. When Athena gets older, there is a an agility course not too far from where we live, and I would love to take her there. Anyways thanks for seeting the record straight

Hello, My name is Molly. I am 31 and from a small town in Western New York. As for my history with Pits, I have always, admired the dogs, have never had one (that is until this coming Febuary) I am a getting a Pit pull puppy, both Parents are red nosed pits, I have named my dog Athena. I got into Pits because like i said I have always admired the breed, and loved seeing success stories of the rehabiltated pits on tv, and have done my homework and when my neighbor offered to give me a dog, I jumped at the chance. Pitsbulls appeal to me partly because I want to be an ambassador for the breed, I want to show people that not all pitbbulls are mean, that infact, agressive pits are the exception. I love how affectionate pits are and that they are always happy. As I said before, my puppy Athena will be coming home near the end of Febuary. I plan to train her for agility, and in order to socialize her, I live in a small enough town that i can walk her around to different settings and get her used to different people. I recently had to euthanize my other dog Missy, who was shih Tzu/llapa apso and I have two cats. I enjoy camping and am hoping to find a pit friendly campsite at the state park near my home. This is my facebook page if your interested http://www.facebook.com/flynn7181 file:///c:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Molly/My%20Documents/athena.jpg

athenasmom wrote:I guess I was under the impression you were saying that unethical breeders are breeders who treat their dogs bad and things, I am sorry so yes, my dog did come from a BYB, I guess, I was under the impression that was a bad thing. Anyways,

Well it is a bad thing...but not bad in that they're beating their dogs or that they aren't feeding them. (some feel it's even worse than that) It's bad because if you go to any shelter in the country you'll find most of the dogs there are Pit Bull type dogs. It's really very sad. Some of the shelters won't even adopt out PB type dogs. And lots of the little puppies that are in there are from "just one litter". Or an "oops" litter. Tons and tons of dogs are being put down every single day People who breed dogs should be doing it for the betterment of the breed. Only the best of the best should produce-one, because that way that breed of dog-whether it's an APBT, AmStaff, SBT, Bull Terrier, Golden Retrievers, etc-any type of dog-is the best representation of that breed and two-a lot of BYB PB pups are unstable (ie:aren't friendly with people) or unhealthy (ie:have mange)...and those are typically the dogs that make headlines-and why it's such a hot topic for PB enthusiasts.

athenasmom wrote:Okay I can see your point, however, I am sure like you said i will get a great dog

Me too! Especially since you now have this awesome forum for a resource! And that you'll have this resource from the beginning of ownership. Other websites that are awesome too are the Bad Rap website, Pit Bull Rescue Central and Dr. Sophia Yin's website. I'm sure you'll find a ton of stuff that appeals to you.

THat would be great I cannot wait to start my adventure as a pit owner it was funny, as they are old enough to be held by humans, i had her at my apartment and she tried to play with my one cat (who is only 4 months old) and the cat looked at her like "What are you?"

athenasmom wrote:First what type of leash? do you reccomend the rope ones ( I Know as they get older they get stronger) Also what type of chew toys as she is teething now ( i live across the hall from her mom) and for later?

From my experience and others that I personally know, the type of leash doesn't matter. I have had no problem just getting a regular leash from Petco or another pet store. What you need to worry about is the collar. With our puppy started with a regular collar, and then at 12 weeks we switched to a prong collar. Some people think that the prong collar is mean but it's not, and it IS legal. We had it on her for a few weeks to help with walking, 'cause she used to tug us around. We switched back to a regular collar but you'll find when they get older those collars slide a lot (getting bigger and smaller randomly) and Pit's have the ability to suck in their necks and get a regular collar off by walking. So we then switched to a chain collar with a rope in it, so far this has worked the best. It's comfortable, they can't get out of it, and it keeps them in control while walking because if they pull it tightens. Others I've talked to agreed that it's the best one. I'll post a few links for you of the prong and chain collar.http://www.petco.com/product/111525/Petco-Training-Chain-Prong-Collar-for-Dogs.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

As for the toys, right now it doesn't matter as much because they won't destroy it. They have certain puppy teething toys. I just used squeaky toys, anything interactive like that they love. After a few weeks you'll notice that they have figured out how to rip things apart, and become a lot more of aggressive chewers! The only toy proven to withstand our pup is the Extreme Kong Ball, I'll also post a link to that. You can stuff treats in it for one, and also it's durable. She has yet to destroy it. Every other toy she has destroyed almost instantly, even the supposedly durable ones. Plus she loves it. I personally wouldn't recommend squeaky toys or stuffed animals later on because it gets very messy haha! Oh and the Kong Ball comes in normal and extreme, you want to get extreme! Petco has all these things but I am aware it can get pricey so a local pet store should have them as well. I get all my dog toys online at a certain site, they have really good deals, I'll also post a link to that. Anymore question I can try to answer? Good luck!